“Come in, please. This is the Whisper Bird. We’ve been attacked by Imperial forces. Please send help.”
He had been tricked!
Korda smashed the transmitter with the force pike, the hologram vanishing.
He spun around. “The boy must be hiding somewhere on the ship. Find him.”
But the commander was staring like an infant at the lanterns that were draped around the cockpit’s cracked canopy. They were pulsing red and purple, the lights following some kind of simple sequence.
“What are they?” asked the commander.
“Who cares?” roared Korda. “Find the boy!”
The commander took a step closer. “They’re pointing down to the ice.”
Korda went to grab the man’s shoulder when there was a rumble, deep below the ship. The Whisper Bird shook as huge white arms burst up through the ice. Korda fell forward as the ship toppled. A massive tail, pulsing purple and red, snaked around the Whisper Bird, pulling it down.
Pulling it into the water!
Korda shoved at the commander as they plunged beneath the surface. Freezing water flooded the ship, rushing through the hole the troopers had blasted. It gushed into the cockpit even as the hull buckled beneath the grip of the monstrous tail.
The snowtroopers struggled in the deluge, their heavy armor weighing them down. Korda didn’t give them a second glance. Shrugging off his soaked furs he swam through the ship. The walls were collapsing, but he kept going. Visler Korda wasn’t going to die on an insignificant moon light-years from civilization!
His lungs screamed for oxygen as he reached the exit, only to find it blocked by the monster’s pulsing tail. Black spots appeared in front of Korda’s eyes. He was blacking out. He reached for his blaster, fumbling with the holster. Finally, he pulled it free and fired. The shot went wide, striking the hull, but it did the trick. The tail retreated, enough for Korda to squeeze past and kick himself free of the ship.
Sunlight was streaming through the hole in the ice as he propelled himself up. Not much longer, he told himself. Nearly there.
Something brushed against his foot, but he kicked it away. He needed to keep going. He needed to survive.
Korda broke the surface just as he felt consciousness slip away. He hacked, the sudden pain of breathing air into his tired lungs bringing back his senses.
He couldn’t stop. There was no knowing if the thing that had taken the Whisper Bird was coming back. He forced himself to the edge of the ice and dragged his aching body out of the water. He lay there for a minute, gasping for breath, wanting to sleep. No. He had to stay awake. He was soaked to the skin. It wouldn’t be long before hypothermia set in.
Korda lurched to his feet, shivering in the cool air. Ice crystals had already started forming over his eyes, but there was no mistaking the sound that filled his ears.
The Star Herald was taking off!
He wiped his eyes clear and moaned as he saw his stolen ship rising steadily into the sky. He fell to his knees and bellowed as it rocketed toward the clouds.
“No. You can’t do this! Come back! Come back!”
In a second the Star Herald was gone.
Alone on the ice, Captain Korda threw back his head and screamed.
The crew of the Imperial cruiser scrambled into action as the Star Herald blasted into space. They had expected to hear from the snowtroopers, not see the stolen prototype making an escape bid. The captain of the cruiser called for his deputy to prime the tractor beam, but it was already too late. The Star Herald stretched and escaped into hyperspace before he even reached the controls.
On the Star Herald’s flight deck, Lina slumped back in the copilot’s seat. She was silent, as was her brother. The animal in the corridor had turned out to be Morq, Milo and CR-8R following close behind.
Milo explained what they had done as he used one of her tools to remove the handcuffs. “There are these creatures in the sea. We sent them a message, asking them to attack the Whisper Bird, just before we got out.”
Milo had sacrificed the Whisper Bird to escape, to survive.
Lina still couldn’t take it in. The Whisper Bird really was gone this time.
Their home.
Their last link to their parents.
She began to cry.
“Sis!” Milo said, wrapping her in a hug. She hugged him back, never wanting to let go.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t lied, if I hadn’t tricked everyone…”
“You didn’t know this was going to happen. Besides, you were trying to find Mom and Dad. They could still be around here.”
Behind them CR-8R was examining a screen. “I’m afraid not. It appears the Bridgers’ lead was a fake. Captain Korda himself sent the message, to lure you here.”
“See!” Lina said, breaking away from her brother. “We should never have come. Now we’ve lost everything. The ship. All our memories of Mom and Dad.”
“Maybe not everything,” CR-8R said. With a buzz his holo-emitter burst to life. The flight deck was filled with the recording of Lina, Milo, and their parents playing speeder tag.
“Before we escaped, I downloaded everything I could from the Whisper Bird’s databanks, including most of your holo-recordings.”
Both children raced through the hologram to fling their arms around the bewildered droid. Even Morq joined in, cackling wildly.
“Stop it,” CR-8R said, trying to bat them away. Then his voice softened. “I’m just glad you’re both safe. I know I’m only a grumpy old droid, but I don’t know what I’d do without you two.…”
“What about Morq?” Milo asked, wiping away his tears.
“Don’t push it!” CR-8R said, trying to dislodge the monkey-lizard from his repulsor unit.
Milo laughed, looking around the pristine flight deck. “I guess we do have a new ship. This thing is seriously cool.”
“And wanted by the Empire!” Lina pointed out.
Milo shrugged. “So are we!”
“There’s something else,” CR-8R said, turning back to the console. “Captain Korda hacked into the Imperial communication network.”
“Why would he do that?” Milo asked, peering at the screen.
“Probably so he could keep an eye on official channels,” Lina suggested.
“Exactly,” agreed CR-8R. “He was looking for any mentions of you or your parents. And he found this.”
A picture appeared on the screen. It showed a man and a woman. The image was fuzzy and indistinct, but Milo recognized them right away.
“That’s Mom and Dad! Where are they?”
Lina swung herself into a chair and hit a button. Data scrolled across the bottom of the picture. “According to this they’ve been taken to a planet on the very edge of Wild Space.”
“It appears to be some kind of Imperial mining colony,” CR-8R told them. “The world is one your parents visited, before you were born.”
“Really?” Milo said, peering at the screen. “What is it?”
“One of the first planets they ever mapped. Its name is Agaris!”
RHYSSA GRAF stumbled as they were marched from the Imperial shuttle. Her husband caught her, and she looked up into Auric’s face.
He looked so gaunt, his skin like paper.
She hated to think how she looked.
“Move,” ordered a stormtrooper, prodding her in the back. She allowed herself to be pushed across the hangar and into a dark, low-ceilinged corridor. Auric held her hand, their fingers intertwined.
Condensation settled on Rhyssa’s skin. The air on the planet was damp and clammy. When they were flying in, the place had looked familiar, although she had no idea why. Rhyssa was having trouble recognizing anything these days. The air in the tunnel was thick with moisture, stinking of mold and rotting vegetation.
They were shoved into a room. It was almost completely bare, except for a table and chairs.
A gloved hand grabbed her shoulder, pushing her down in a seat.
They sat in silence, flanked by two stormtroopers, waiting for goodness knew what.
Eventually, a door slid opened and a tall man strode in. His uniform was immaculate, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. His hair, gray at the temples, was slicked back, and his cadaverous face was dominated by a long hooked nose.
The man’s sudden appearance had an immediate effect on their guards. The stormtroopers snapped to attention, standing just a little bit taller in his presence.
Who was this man?
The newcomer paused opposite them for a moment before pulling out a chair. He sat, smoothed out his coat, and leaned forward on the desk.
Rhyssa couldn’t stop staring at his eyes. They were like two black holes, drawing her in.
“Welcome to Agaris,” he finally said. His voice was clipped, cultured. He looked at them both, his thin lips turning up at the corners. Rhyssa’s skin crawled. It was like watching a snake trying to smile.
“My name is Wilhuff Tarkin,” the man continued. “I need to talk to you about your children.”
TO BE CONTINUED IN
STAR WARS
ADVENTURES IN WILD SPACE
Book Six: THE RESCUE
The Cold Page 6
